I watered him only when the top inch felt dry and gave him
lots of indirect sunlight. However, in the past couple of days, I've
noticed brown spots/speckles on the lower leaves and the stems. I have
also been reading similar posts from other members and Al's
explanations, so I'm assuming the problem is mainly due to overwatering,
root rot and/or insects. I also am seeing the fiddle's roots on top of
the soil so the best bet seems to be repotting. Having come to this
conclusion, I am planning to repot the guy by following Al's famous
gritty mix recipe. The brown specks on the leaves are likely oedema, which occurs when the plant's internal water pressure becomes high enough to break through cell walls. The cell's contents then burst and leak into intercellular spaces in the surrounding tissue, which causes a saturated spot that eventually turns corky. The elongated spots on stem structures are openings in the stem's young periderm (bark) called lenticels. Their job is to provide openings through which internal gasses can escape and oxygen from surrounding air can enter the plant's tissue, which requires this gas exchange to remain viable.

There is one question, however, that I have not been able to find an
answer to anywhere in the forums (or perhaps I'm not researching hard
enough). When repotting, am I supposed to remove/cut off the affected
leaves? No. A plant's only source of food/energy is the sugar it makes during photosynthesis (glucose). Since every leaf is a food factory, removing them leaves the plant very vulnerable - especially so if it has been growing under stress or strain, leaving it w/o enough energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage. None of my leaves have crispy brown tips,
mostly brown speckles on the back of the leaves as well as all over the
stems (petiole?). I have seen some people cut away parts of the affected
leaves, but that doesn't seem like the best option for me as the
speckles are not necessarily concentrated in specific areas. The lower
leaves are also starting to droop. If I am not supposed to cut the
affected leaves, do they eventually go back to "normal" and lose the
spots after repotting and following the correct procedures? Animals are regenerative organisms and can "heal" by regenerating new tissues in the same spacial position as damaged tissued. Plants are not capable of doing that, so damage cannot heal. A blemished leaf will always have the blemishes until the leaf is no more. I guess what
I ultimately want to know is, "how do I get rid of the spots?" Some trees are prolific back-budders, IOW, they form new branches from dormant buds above old (leaf) bundle scars and from adventitious buds that arise from the plant's meristematic tissues. Meristematic tissues have cells (STEM cells, thus meriSTEMatic) that are capable of differentiating into any of the plant's organs.

You can get rid of spots by getting rid of leaves - by defoliating the entire tree in the summer and when the plant is in a very high state of vitality (has lots of stored energy); or, you can cut the plant back hard and train a new branch to a vertical orientation as the new leader. All the new leaves on the new branches that occur will be pristine, as long as you're able to provide cultural conditions that favor the tree.

Your job, as grower, is to identify and eliminate those conditions that are limiting or have the potential to inhibit the plant's ability to realize its genetic potential. That's how I look at growing, and it's served me very well. You can start by making sure you're maintaining a healthy ratio of air:water in the root zone and are fertilizing regularly and appropriately. That air:water thing is by far the most prevalent stumbling block, usually related to a less than ideal soil choice, for most growers ..... and not just the new ones.

And YES, you can still repot w/o having to worry about timing. I'd say you're good up until the middle of Aug, or maybe even the first of SEP if it was really important that you repot this year. Still, sooner is better.

Al

Hi Al,

Thank you so much for your insight and clarification.

I truly appreciate the time you took to explain everything to me. I will definitely apply my knowledge to my plants going forward! Good to know that I don't (shouldn't) have to remove the spotted leaves and that it isn't due to insects!

- Robbin